The present invention relates generally to a hand-actuated lever assembly, and more specifically to a hand-actuated lever assembly which is intended for use in motor vehicles.
Motor vehicles typically utilize a hand actuated lever assembly as one means for operating a remote brake mechanism. Such lever assemblies typically include an actuating handle which, when moved to an operating position, projects upwardly into the passenger space of the vehicle. Since such protrusion of the brake handle into the passenger compartment can present an annoying obstacle in entering and exiting the car, most cars having front bucket seats utilize a hand brake lever assembly which is positioned between the driver's and passenger's seats. In automobiles with bench-type front seats, the placement of a hand brake lever assembly is essentially limited to the door side of the driver's seat. Consequently, those cars generally incorporate foot-operated parking brake assemblies.
An improvement of the above-described conventional hand actuated parking brake lever assemblies is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,212, 211 to William Rickert. The Rickert patent discloses a hand-actuated lever assembly in which the handle is manually returnable by the operator to a non-operating, horizontal position without disengagement of the remote parking brake. The lever assembly disclosed in the Rickert patent includes a lever mechanism and a handle pivotally mounted to an anchored ratchet plate. The handle is adapted to engage a stop member mounted on one end of the lever mechanism for pivoting the handle and the lever mechanism to an operating position. The lever mechanism includes means at the opposite end for mechanical linkage to the remote brake. The lever mechanism is pivotally connected to the ratchet plate at a point intermediate the stop member and the mechanical linkage to the remote brake. Operation of the handle results in pivoting of the lever mechanism and application of the brakes.
While the aforementioned Rickert design has proved to be outstanding in several applications, a possible problem arises in certain other applications in that the pivoted connection of the lever mechanism to the ratchet plate is located intermediate the stop member and the mechanical linkage to the remote brake. Thus, the lever mechanism must be of a sufficient length to provide ease of operation of the lever while also providing sufficient cable travel in order to operate the remote brake. Although such an assembly is very suitable for applications which require a limited amount of cable travel or in applications where the overall size of the lever assembly is not limited, such an assembly is less satisfactory in applications which require a relatively large amount of cable travel and the overall size of the lever assembly is limited.
Another possible problem associated with the Ricket lever assembly is that, although the handle is returnable to a non-operating position without disengagement of the remote mechanism, the handle must be manually returned by the operator to such non-operating position.